Although there was no evidence that the eight men convicted were seen throwing the bomb they were convicted on the mere fact that they had met the night before the bombing, which only two were guilty of that. Another argument was that the accused had continually advocated violence against police agents and encouraged the throwing of bombs. “Anarchist ideas were on trial, not acts but words that provoked the acts that threatened social peace, regardless of whether they took part in the actual bombing” . When the jury convicted the anarchist leaders they stated that the men were convicted because they were leaders and by hanging them they would serve as examples. It would warn future revolutionary terror and any sympathizers of inevitable punishments
